"All I hear when you tell me that is 'pre,'" he said. "That means it doesn't mean anything. Not a thing. Until you've done something, I don't care about it."

But Scott did something last season, gaining 1,174 yards. His 18 rushing touchdowns led the SEC.

That, coupled with his willingness to carry the ball into the heart of an opposing defense, earned him first-team All-SEC honors last year from the league's coaches.

Still, Scott was dogged in the offseason by vague notions of 'what if.' He started 2008 with impressive stats against three lesser opponents, sandwiched around a gutsy performance in a comeback win at Auburn. By the end of those four weeks, LSU was as high as No. 3 in the polls, and Scott had rushed for more than 500 yards and six touchdowns.

"When you look at stuff like that, it's kind of hard to judge a performance," he said. "When you're losing games, it's going to fade off. Honestly, I forgot about it myself."

Tailback Keiland Williams said he thought Scott got stronger as the season went on. Scott started all 13 games, and his 217 carries dwarfed any other player's. But as recently as spring football, some members of the LSU coaching staff -- perhaps in an attempt to fan competitive fires -- talked about the tailback position being open.

But that talk, too, has faded away. As LSU enters the last two weeks before its season opener Sept. 5, Scott is the unquestioned top tailback on a team that has at least three.

Two years ago, in its run to a national championship, LSU got 1,000 yards from Jacob Hester and 1,000 yards from its other backs. Scott said he hopes for similar numbers, but is focusing right now on his half.

"You know, be productive, that's the best thing I can say," he said. "I mean, I wouldn't say, 'we want him to have this many yards.' I just want to be productive."

NOTE: Wide receiver Trindon Holliday and quarterback Russell Shepard will also play tailback in some formations.

Fullback depth chart

Richard Dugas///Jr.
James Stampley///So.
Dominique Allen///Fr.

Williams said he shares that goal. Although well-built and fast, Williams sometimes makes questionable decisions as a back. He is capable of the huge play -- he had memorable touchdowns in 2007 against Virginia Tech and Auburn -- but also a maddening habit of not running hard to a spot near the goal line or on third down.

Last season, although his 83 carries were the most of his career, Williams gained just 417 yards and scored two touchdowns after getting 478 yards and scoring six touchdowns in 2007 on 70 carries.

In the offseason, Williams said he and Coach Les Miles talked about what he needed to do "to be a great back." Williams said he remains certain he can leave a mark at LSU as he was expected to do when he arrived.

"He grabbed me right before fan day and said, 'I've never challenged you to be tough; you know I think you're a tough kid,'¤" Williams said. "He said, 'I just want you to be what all the great backs are,' and I think it's just little things that I need to improve that can put me up there with some of the great backs who have come through here."

Specifically, Williams said he is improving his decision-making"in open space."

"Just certain moves that are either going to defeat a defender or have me getting an 8- or 9-yard gain instead of a 5- or 6-yard gain," he said.

Also looking to improve his stock is junior Richard Murphy. Like Williams, Murphy was slightly less productive in 2008 than in 2007 despite an increase in carries. Murphy has the quicksilver talent and heart of a great back, but he has lacked the size to be an every-down performer in the SEC. He hit the weight room hard in the offseason, and for the first time is laying at 200 pounds.

"The roster is wrong," Murphy said Friday when told it had him at 199 pounds. "I talked to (sports information director) Michael Bonnette about that, and it's going to have me at 201."

Murphy came to school as a freshman not long after his mother died. He has opened up more and is ready to shoulder more of the load. His training camp, however, has not been as impressive as he would like.

"I didn't have the best scrimmage last week; that set me back a bit," he said. "But I'm going to make that up at the scrimmage (today)."

Indeed, Murphy and Williams are feeling heat in that LSU moved senior Trindon Holliday, the receiver and return specialist, to running back.Offensive coordinator Gary Crowton seeks better disguised packages for Holliday and Murphy, who generally ran one of a handful of plays when they entered a game, and consequently had little element of surprise.

Fullback, meanwhile, is rife with competition. Walk-ons Richard Dugas and James Stampley are battling for the main job, with freshman Dominique Allen also getting reps. But Stevan Ridley, a sophomore recovering from knee surgery whom the coaches consistently praise, may find fullback the position at which he gets on the field quickest. Also Scott, who played fullback at times last season, said he and Williams lately have taken some reps there.